


In Which Sophie Causes Chaos

by mairelon



Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types, JONES Diana Wynne - Works
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 07:50:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13049709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mairelon/pseuds/mairelon
Summary: In which Sophie, Calcifer, Michael, and Martha visit the Market Chipping Agricultural Show and cause chaos.





	In Which Sophie Causes Chaos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cynassa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cynassa/gifts).



It was a hot August day on the day of the Market Chipping Agricultural Show. Sophie had been up since dawn to prepare her entries into the flower contest. She and Michael were now loading her flowers into the floating cart.

"You're not wearing that to the fair, are you?" Howl asked as he came out of the bathroom in a cloud of gardenia scented steam.

Sophie had on her old gray dress that she wore everyday. "What's wrong with it?" she asked. "I wore it on May Day." Actually, Sophie had been planning on changing into her new dress, but she certainly wasn't going to tell Howl so after his comment.

"If I had an hour, I could tell you everything that is wrong with your dress," said Howl gently. "But sadly, I have a meeting with the King and Suliman this morning. While the rest of you cavort at the fair, I'll be working on the war effort."

Michael looked guilty, but Sophie had no sympathy for Howl. "I know you're enjoying your work building the kingdom's defenses. Like a little boy playing at war."

Howl had been dropping smug hints for weeks about how he couldn't tell them about the work he was doing with Suliman due to the State Secrecy Act.

"We'll bring you back food from the fair," said Michael.

"Thank you, Michael. It's good to know that someone in this house has a heart." Howl swept out of the house. His grand exit was ruined a moment later by him returning to get his seven league boots from the hall closet.

Sophie and Michael changed their clothes and left through the Market Chipping door with the floating cart in tow. Martha was waiting for them outside Cesari's.

"That's new," she said to Sophie, eyeing her blue and white dress. "Did you sew it yourself?"

"Yes, I finished it earlier this week," said Sophie. "I charmed it to never wrinkle and to repel mud and dirt."

The three of them crossed the bridge to the park where the fair was being held. Dozens of tents were set up in rows across the park.

Martha and Michael helped Sophie set up her entries in the flower tent. Sophie was certain that she could have won merely by gathering and entering the flowers from the Waste into the contest, but she thought that was cheating. Instead Sophie was submitting flowers she had grown herself. There was the navy blue rose with the coal black center she had created in June, the sky blue carnations she had created in July, and the blue and white striped hibiscus she had created just last week.

Since the flower judging wasn't until two o'clock, Sophie and Martha showed Michael around the fair.

“We didn't have anything like this in Porthaven,” said Michael as they examined some misshapen four-foot high pumpkins in the pumpkin tent.

“Not big enough,” said Sophie critically. “Martha, remember Farmer Threepwood's pumpkins that one year?”

“The ones that were bigger than carriages?”

“Yes, those ones. Also, these pumpkins aren't round enough.”

They caught up with Calcifer, who had left for the fair at dawn, in the crafts tent. He was hovering in front of the wood carvings, while the woodcarver looked anxiously on. The townspeople had mostly become used to Calcifer zooming through the streets of Market Chipping over the last couple of months, but the woodcarver was from Upper Chipping.

“Sophie, look!” said Calcifer. “Why would anyone bother making firewood into animal shapes? I wouldn't think it would make the firewood taste better.” He reached out a fiery arm to pick up a wooden terrier.

“Stop!” shouted Michael. He leapt between Calcifer and the table but ended up knocking the table over. Wooden pieces went flying everywhere. Calcifer opened his mouth and swallowed a wooden lion.

Sophie said hurriedly to the carvings scattered all over the floor, “Listen up. You will never burn or catch on fire. You will never be destroyed. You hear that, wood?”

The woodcarver started haranguing them for the damage they had done and demanded four gold for the lion that Calcifer had eaten plus another gold for all the damage they had caused. Michael winced and placed five gold coins on the table.

Martha swiped the money before the wood carver could take it. “That's too much!” she exclaimed. “That wooden lion was only worth ten silver at the most.”

“And we'll help clean up the mess,” said Sophie. “Nothing else got damaged.”

Martha continued haggling with the man, while Sophie and Michael righted the table and picked up all the carvings. In the end, Martha handed over one gold and two silvers, and they hurried Calcifer out of the crafts tent.

In the textiles tent, Sophie studied the invisibility cloaks on display and resolved to sew her own. In the livestock pastures, they watched the judges award the first prize ribbon for Fattest Pig to a pig called Empress.

Michael insisted on eating lunch after that. They shared a chicken pot pie and roast pork from one of the food vendors. Sophie tossed Calcifer the crust from her pie. As they were finishing up their lunch, Sophie noticed shouts coming from the other side of the fairgrounds. The commotion grew louder and louder. Then a horde of people stampeded past the food stalls. The other diners looked around in perplexity.

“Let's go take a look at what's happening,” Sophie said.

“We're going towards the screams?” Michael said.

They soon saw what was causing the commotion. Where the pumpkin tent used to be, there were now a dozen twenty-foot high pumpkins. The pumpkins were now perfectly round and still visibly growing. The pumpkins had collapsed several nearby tents. People flailed around under one of the nearby tents, trying to crawl out. Dozens of ducks and chickens flapped around the destroyed poultry tent. Pigs raced around the scene in a panic.

“Sophie, you did this!” Calcifer crackled in delight.

Sophie guilty recalled her comments about the pumpkins. “It was an accident! Stop looking so happy and help me figure out what to do.”

Martha and Michael picked up the edge of the fallen tent to give people an opening to escape from.

“Stop growing!” Sophie shouted.

The pumpkins continued to grow. A couple of pigs barreled towards Sophie, and she had to leap aside to avoid them.

“What did you say to the pumpkins to make them do this?” Calcifer asked.

“Nothing! I just commented that they weren't as big as previous year's. And that they weren't round enough.”

“So try reversing your comments,” said Calcifer.

“Oh! Pumpkins, you're beautifully round. And you're the perfect size. You don't want to grow anymore, do you?”

The pumpkins slowed down and then stopped growing.

Calcifer flew up and surveyed the damage. “Not too bad. Only six tents were damaged. It could have been worse.” Calcifer cast a spell and the six collapsed tents rose and settled back into its proper place. “I can't do anything about all the livestock running around.”

“The farmers will know how to catch them,” said Martha. “The owners will have charms that can call their animals home. Sophie, it's almost 2:00. Let's head to the flower tent.”

They found Howl outside the flower tent, surveying the free ranging chickens, ducks, and pigs roaming around the fair.

“What are you doing here?” asked Sophie.

“I cut the meeting short so I could see you win the first place ribbon. However, do my eyes deceive me or do I see your magic all over those pumpkins over there?” Howl gestured towards the thirty-foot high pumpkins towering over the fair.

“The judges are going to have a hard time weighing and judging the pumpkins this year.” Sophie said.

A wooden rabbit about six inches high hopped past them, with a foot-high wooden tiger bounding in pursuit. Sophie, Michael, Calcifer, and Martha looked at each other and winced.

“Um, should we do something?” Michael asked.

“That's nothing to do with us,” Sophie lied. She took Howl's arm and dragged him into the flower tent. “Let's go find seats for the judging.”


End file.
